A well designed FPS with lots of ambience, detail, and dynamic physics. Worth the price, but I must agree with other reviewers that it is overrated. It is ultimately a very linear FPS with less depth than a game like Deus Ex: Invisible War. My irritations include dealing with the required Steam program and frequent graphical/audio stuttering and long loading times. All in all, though, A well designed FPS with lots of ambience, detail, and dynamic physics. Worth the price, but I must agree with other reviewers that it is overrated. It is ultimately a very linear FPS with less depth than a game like Deus Ex: Invisible War. My irritations include dealing with the required Steam program and frequent graphical/audio stuttering and long loading times. All in all, though, it's a compelling FPS, but probably not much reason to play twice because of it's linearity and scripted sequences.…Expand

Solid singleplayer game - the graphics are amazing. Storyline is a little lame but who really plays these things for the plot? Anyhow, the free Deathmatch addon is incredible. and makes an 8/10 single player game a perfect 10!

I have heard complaints about two aspects in particular. Firslty, steam is a pain. Secondly, the game is too linear. So lets deal with this. On steam, its a pain, and in my opinion, for good reason. Piracy and illegal downloading is rife and while we may secretly indulge in a spot of less than legal activities when it comes to digital copyrights, we have to respect the concerns of the I have heard complaints about two aspects in particular. Firslty, steam is a pain. Secondly, the game is too linear. So lets deal with this. On steam, its a pain, and in my opinion, for good reason. Piracy and illegal downloading is rife and while we may secretly indulge in a spot of less than legal activities when it comes to digital copyrights, we have to respect the concerns of the company. Why should they put up with people stealing their game? The system needs to be cleaned up true, but it is necessary. And personally I haven't found steam to be too troublesome. But the biggest potential criticism is the linear gameplay. Now there are two types of FPS out there really. There are those that are simply linear, and there are those that try to provide the player with freedom. Now personally I fidn that freedom of choice in games is an illusion in most cases, unless we are only talking about what type of weapon etc. In most cases your path is already determined, and only the storyline is affected. But if this is a big issue for you then you won't like HL2 And the fact is that you should already know this. The whole point of HL is to provide a movie like experience. There is a trade off between scirpting and freedom of gameplay. To make the whole thing more movie like, scritping is needed, otherwise the environment will become static. This comes at the cost of raw freedom of movement etc. Given that HL2 is full of scripting, the complaint that there isnt any freedom appears to be valid. But is it a problem? When you watch a movie, do you complain that you can't control the main character? This is how you should view HL2 for maximum enjoyment: you have the priviledge of being the main character in an amazing film. This is what HL1 did and unsurprisingly this is what HL2 does. To change it into some sort of free-roaming game would change the essense of the game, and no one would like that. The second argument against non-linear gameplay is that it increases the workload of the developers dramatically, so they have to cut down on the total length of the game. Now in my opinion HL2 is already too short, so anything less than this would reduce my score greatly. As for other smaller criticisms I have heard, most were minor gripe, but one in particular annoyed me. It seems some poeple are disappointed with the character expressions. This is incredibly unfair if you just comapre HL2's characters to what you find in other games, where developers have spent more time getting the exact way that people die right than the way people talk. I have given the game a score of 8, due to the short length, but if by the time you read this there is sufficient mod support, feel free to consider the score a 9 or even a 10, depending on the strength of the mods.…Expand

HL2 is a great game so I'll get the little annoyances out the road now. Having to go online each time is a pain, fortunately I now have broadband but could not imagine how annoying it would have to be to be on dial up. But the pirates are the only ones to blame...so blame them! Secondly I have a pretty good PC @ 2.1 Ghz, 512 RAM and a Radeon 9600XT...something I would call "middle HL2 is a great game so I'll get the little annoyances out the road now. Having to go online each time is a pain, fortunately I now have broadband but could not imagine how annoying it would have to be to be on dial up. But the pirates are the only ones to blame...so blame them! Secondly I have a pretty good PC @ 2.1 Ghz, 512 RAM and a Radeon 9600XT...something I would call "middle ground" and yet it took ages to load and save that it did take the fun out of the moment. I'll also say that I played it on the hardest setting yet there were very few occasions when I had to scavenge for ammo or health, there always seemed to be enough if you were prepared to look for it. Yes the game is linear but its a story and I can't imagine how (or why) you would want to play it with full freedom, it would just take too long. There is one scene where you need to find two batteries in order to open a barricade. As a test I used the gravity gun to eject a battery over the cliff face - I turned around and saw another battery fall out of thin air back to its original spot...so bascially you can't just do anything you want otherwise the game wouldn't progress. Speaking of which, the gravity gun was an ingenious inclusion in the game, it just made yet another FPS a lot more interesting. Moving tables about to shield yourself, or throwing petrol drums at guards was pretty cool in my books. Not as great as the original but it was a solid game with lovely gameplay and worth every cent.…Expand

I´ve been playing this game only for a few hours but it´s enough for me to say that this is probably the best first person shooter game i ever played. I can´t wait for the day when they will release some kind of computer glases so you´ll be totally inside of a 3D game. This game is awesome!!!

To describe how amazing this game is would be as hard as letting go of it. The graphics are incredible, the sound is perfect, and (most importantly) the gameplay is superb. Plus, you can use a gravity gun to throw babies at people. It doesn't get much better than this. Oh, wait a minute. Yes, it does. You can also make cars fall on enemies. And when the mods come out it may get EVEN To describe how amazing this game is would be as hard as letting go of it. The graphics are incredible, the sound is perfect, and (most importantly) the gameplay is superb. Plus, you can use a gravity gun to throw babies at people. It doesn't get much better than this. Oh, wait a minute. Yes, it does. You can also make cars fall on enemies. And when the mods come out it may get EVEN better (if that's possible).…Expand

The only reason I don't rate it a 10 is that I don't know what the "perfect" game is. This is an awesome game that thrusts you into another world. The realism is uncanny. I turn off all the lights in the "computer room" and slip into Gordon Freeman's body. What a rush! Those galloping ghouls that debut in Ravenholm will freak you out! The situations that you find yourself The only reason I don't rate it a 10 is that I don't know what the "perfect" game is. This is an awesome game that thrusts you into another world. The realism is uncanny. I turn off all the lights in the "computer room" and slip into Gordon Freeman's body. What a rush! Those galloping ghouls that debut in Ravenholm will freak you out! The situations that you find yourself in often require you to stop, take stock of your surroundings, and figure out how to think your way out of the dilemma. I wish I could erase my memory and play it anew over and over again.…Expand

A great technical achievement. But you've all heard the good, so here's the bad: Unfortunately HL2 lacks the challenge presented by its predecessor. Health power ups were available at every turn, which eliminated the need for any serious kind of FPS tactics (even on hard)...simply run, gun, and heal yourself. Ammo was extremely plentiful as well. This was a shame since limiting A great technical achievement. But you've all heard the good, so here's the bad: Unfortunately HL2 lacks the challenge presented by its predecessor. Health power ups were available at every turn, which eliminated the need for any serious kind of FPS tactics (even on hard)...simply run, gun, and heal yourself. Ammo was extremely plentiful as well. This was a shame since limiting the ammo would have forced players to use the gravity gun more. Instead the grav gun felt more like a gimmic. The vehicles were cool for the most part, however the airship level was too long. It's hard for me to say this but I was actually bored at that point. Overall HL2 is a game of amazing moments strung together by mediocre ones.…Expand

Man... if there was a 9.5 rating... incredible game, Half-Life. its not really ment to be any sort of a horror/thriller game, but there are a few jumpy moments throughout. sweet gameplay, smart-AI, and smooth graphics are just icing on the metaphrical-super-delectable cake. the only problems i could find are the numerous (and often annoying) loading times, the 5-CD install, and Steam.

Overall a great game with a few minor quirks that hold it back. While a great idea, Steam is more of a hassle than it really should be. The game itself is far too short and could use a more diverse cast of enemies.

Wtf stop bitching here, everyone knows pros and cons, not everyone has money to buy all games and appreciate it, so they buy and play hype games like this and I can see many ppl enjoy HL2. I am one of them. There is no use bitching. Who knows how difficult to build an engine and create models with a limiting budget? How much can a game return? as much as blockbuster? HL2 sacrifice some ofWtf stop bitching here, everyone knows pros and cons, not everyone has money to buy all games and appreciate it, so they buy and play hype games like this and I can see many ppl enjoy HL2. I am one of them. There is no use bitching. Who knows how difficult to build an engine and create models with a limiting budget? How much can a game return? as much as blockbuster? HL2 sacrifice some of good features it had in HL1 for better graphic and physics engine. Anyway they managed to do meet its hype though there are many ways they can do it better. Halo 2 beat HL2 commercially, but if u look at what Halo 2 did after 3 years of making and Valve building their own engine from scratches in nearly 5-6 years, u can see clearly the passion behind the valve. Yup Steam sucks, it is mostly because they got hacked once.…Expand

Great game,truly an experience in itself,there was only one thing that I did not like about the game. (besides steam that is)This may sound trivial but I absolutely hated the rocket launcher!! this has got to be the worst weapon that I've ever see, in any game!! please lose this weapon for the follow up!!

Its a great game but too overhyped, there are better games in terms of gameplay that still offer scripted storyline like far cry. The use of physics is a great addition and the graphics are fantastic, the AI is not so good. Overall a great game worth playing and buying but not as perfect as the reviewers say.

The difficulty levels are poor, even on hard the game is very easy, and it is almost impossible to die. The game progress is entirely linear, no variation on game play is possible, and as usual in Half Life, you really have no idea *why* you are walking forward, just that you need to in order to play the game. Graphics, etc, are all great, of course.

Well, I would just like to say to all you who complain about steam and how you have to set up an account to play... On the box it says internet connections REQUIRED, that means you need it, deal with it, if you don't like it dont buy the game.... The physics are amazing, the games storyline is linear, but thats how it should be, its not GTA nor should it be, Half-Life 2 is less than Well, I would just like to say to all you who complain about steam and how you have to set up an account to play... On the box it says internet connections REQUIRED, that means you need it, deal with it, if you don't like it dont buy the game.... The physics are amazing, the games storyline is linear, but thats how it should be, its not GTA nor should it be, Half-Life 2 is less than a challenge than Half-Life 1, when half-life 1 came out first person shooters weren't challenging and there werent that many good ones... if you look now there is a plethora of shooters and we have all become accustomed to them... Try playing Half-Life 1 again... I did before Half-Life 2 came out and it wasn't half the challenge that it was when i first tried it, we have just gotten too accustomed to them... Now concerning steam and the processes that we had to go through to play... Plain and simple; would you like to put six years of your life into a game, perfecting, working, develloping a game that is in all ways a master piece to have it stolen mby some college grad with a computer steal it, use it, play it without ever playing? does that sound just to you? Also as to the AI? on hard the ai is very smart, i once popped out a door, then saw four or five CP soldiers and a strider, then ran back inside and waited for them to come and attack me... one ran through the door.... shotgun to the head! I expected more to come through pop 'em off one by one, not going to happen... a nade comes through... i jumped behind a table that flew into me and hurt me... then again i waited.. the strider crouched down and looked into the doorway charged its beam and fired! its was impressive i closed the door and blocked it up with a few tables and the cps tried to break down the door they couldnt! they smashed the window and started to shoot me they lobbed grenades etc! this was NOT SCRIPTED!!! i tried it more than once... it happened differenly each time (including one time that then shot the boxes to break them and then kicked open the door,) Ok, last thing... i think people who say that the phsysics are stupid and that there are games with better graphics than Half-Life 2, Ok you are on crack... or have been hit in the head one too many times with a real crowbar... There is no game that can compare.... Far cry? Lol yah... right I own that game.. I have beaten it but the game doesnt have anything going for it other than a fun gameplay... its mediocre graphics wise.…Expand

This game is awesome, the plot, graphics, steam is good, the engine, the ai is good despite what people say (just cos they have it on easy) the gravity gun, musides is wrong it isnt almost impossible to die etc etc.

Truly a great game. The atmospere is stunning, voices and music are nice, storyline's fascinating, graphics are amazing and the physichs best ever seen, and they're used well to bring us some logical puzzles. But it has some flaws. The long loading pauses are bigger problem than you might think - they split the gaming into too small pieces. Also, though most weapons are great, Truly a great game. The atmospere is stunning, voices and music are nice, storyline's fascinating, graphics are amazing and the physichs best ever seen, and they're used well to bring us some logical puzzles. But it has some flaws. The long loading pauses are bigger problem than you might think - they split the gaming into too small pieces. Also, though most weapons are great, some, for example the Overwatch Pulse Rifle, aren't that good.…Expand

I have to part-way agree with Mister B. This game's graphics and effects are amazing, but the gameplay's innerworkings are lacking... at best. I was blown away when I first started playing it, but my disappointment mounted when I reached the third level. You spend an hour driving around on a stupid bike solving incredibly dumb puzzles. Yes, Ravenholme won me back for an hour, I have to part-way agree with Mister B. This game's graphics and effects are amazing, but the gameplay's innerworkings are lacking... at best. I was blown away when I first started playing it, but my disappointment mounted when I reached the third level. You spend an hour driving around on a stupid bike solving incredibly dumb puzzles. Yes, Ravenholme won me back for an hour, but no more, no less. Really, if you are going to choose between this 50 - 80 dollar game and the 20 dollar original Half-Life package, go with the original Half-Life. It is defenitely better. Trust me.…Expand

Uses multi-sensory techniques to immerse you in a virtual world. Audio in particular is awesome. Maybe not a real challenge compared to some killer FPS, but probably better at RPG simulation for those who like living in an alternate reality--though it is linear, so don't expect to create your own story. Another little annoyance is the game's broken into relatively small bits Uses multi-sensory techniques to immerse you in a virtual world. Audio in particular is awesome. Maybe not a real challenge compared to some killer FPS, but probably better at RPG simulation for those who like living in an alternate reality--though it is linear, so don't expect to create your own story. Another little annoyance is the game's broken into relatively small bits with load times between them. With no cut scenes to chew on, waiting a few seconds for loads is a shruggable offense. As for peeps other complaints: I use DSL to connect to the Internet and haven't had any problems so far with Steam, I loaded the game from DVD in about ten minutes, and I haven't seen any real bugs or evidence of bad programming.…Expand

How's this for a noncommital evaluation? I understand the hype and I understand the negative reaction to the hype. No, seriously, I give it a "10" because it's the most immersive game I've ever played, and that state is achieved by an incredible attention to detail. It's like you're right there in the scene and I don't know of any other game that can truly How's this for a noncommital evaluation? I understand the hype and I understand the negative reaction to the hype. No, seriously, I give it a "10" because it's the most immersive game I've ever played, and that state is achieved by an incredible attention to detail. It's like you're right there in the scene and I don't know of any other game that can truly make that claim (yes, I know there are some that *say* they can, but IMO they can't). I do have some reservations about the much-praised facial contortions--for the most part these are great, but there're some lapses. Dr. Breen is a good example. His facial expressions/gestures and voice don't quite synch up. Robert Culp's a great choice to voice unctuousness, though--I get such a kick listening to his oily voice on the various broadcasts and then, when I can't take it any more, using the Ggun to rip the console out of the wall and smash it. Apart from that, people have rightly faulted the so-called helpers (including the antlions, post-"Highway 17") and their annoying habit of getting in your way. People have also complained about the ending. I admit at first I didn't care much for it ("cheesy" was my initial reaction) but replaying "Benefactors" and "Dark Energy" together, I find the sinister atmosphere of the Citadel has kind of grown on me. The only thing about that last part I didn't like is having to rely for most of the time only on the Enhanced GravityGun. The fun of HL2 (as in HL1, only not as much) is weapon swapping, discovering to your delight that you forgot, say, that the crossbow could do so much long-range damage or that the best weapon against fast-moving zombies is sometimes the good old crowbar. In the last two levels, it's just blast, suck stuff up, and/or throw it. It gets old, quickly. All around, this game has significantly upped the standards we expect of FPSers and everyone, even those who aren't impressed with the game, should be thankful for that.…Expand

A response to Mr. Hideto, who claims this game is no good, and that all evaluators of this game are somehow stupid and/or mindless clones who cannot make up their own minds: your "intellectual" smugness is entirely annoying. Please don't preach to us about human nature: there is more human nature in Half-Life 2 than your entire diatribe. Your philosophy that "it doesn' t make A response to Mr. Hideto, who claims this game is no good, and that all evaluators of this game are somehow stupid and/or mindless clones who cannot make up their own minds: your "intellectual" smugness is entirely annoying. Please don't preach to us about human nature: there is more human nature in Half-Life 2 than your entire diatribe. Your philosophy that "it doesn' t make sense that everyone agrees on something, does it now," is entirely idiotic, for not everyone agrees. And I really doubt that game-playing critics must go to other magazines for their own scorings. Thank you for your dumb post. Oh, by the way, everyone else: buy the game. It is excellent.…Expand

I've been playing games hardcore on all platforms since the Atari 2600. Half-Life 2 is the absolute pinnacle gaming has ever produced. It's lightyears ahead of the competition in all aspects of it's design. To the haters, a question. If you don't like Half-Life 2, what games DO you like?

Hideto M. your just being negative! but seriously this is a great game and it deserves its praise. Just because everyone says this game is great doesnt make us all conformist a$$holes maybe it just means this is a great game. The first game was not over rated and did deserve its praise. Thanks to Half-Life we are not playing mindless corridor shooters. Go ahead and say we are mindless and Hideto M. your just being negative! but seriously this is a great game and it deserves its praise. Just because everyone says this game is great doesnt make us all conformist a$$holes maybe it just means this is a great game. The first game was not over rated and did deserve its praise. Thanks to Half-Life we are not playing mindless corridor shooters. Go ahead and say we are mindless and have no opinions but i have more people to back me up that this is a great game than you do.…Expand

This was a great game and was a worthy sequal to the original. Playing the game was like watching an epic movie, with its awesome action sequences...but the bad was also that, It is way to linear. Everythings else is fine, especially if you have a top notch PC. Steam, ugg, don't get me started. If your have dial up, youll be spending all day getting it started. I just wish it was This was a great game and was a worthy sequal to the original. Playing the game was like watching an epic movie, with its awesome action sequences...but the bad was also that, It is way to linear. Everythings else is fine, especially if you have a top notch PC. Steam, ugg, don't get me started. If your have dial up, youll be spending all day getting it started. I just wish it was longer, it took Valve 8 years to make this game and it is just as long, if not SHORTER than Half Life1 which took just one or two. This is a great game and i highly reccomend it. It isn't the greatest game of all time though, In my opinion i think Far Cry is much better. But if your a PC gamer, get this game alongside with FarCry and Doom3 and have an ultimate Gaming marathon :)…Expand

If You enjoy First Person Shooters then look no further. HL2 Not only has great AI But also has graphics that will make you think its Photorealistic. This is true especially for the Sewer Section that shows off the Water Effects and Ground with such detail it must be seen to be believed. The Only Negative is the installation which can take nearly 3 hours because not only do you have to If You enjoy First Person Shooters then look no further. HL2 Not only has great AI But also has graphics that will make you think its Photorealistic. This is true especially for the Sewer Section that shows off the Water Effects and Ground with such detail it must be seen to be believed. The Only Negative is the installation which can take nearly 3 hours because not only do you have to install 5 CD'S But you must Register through steam, it Must verify the keyCode and Decrypt files and then Update Steam Files and Then Update The Game itself. Valve after getting Burned by its code being stolen has made a foolproof method that almost no one can Get past. Each CD-Key must be Unique and Acompany a unique Screenname. This info is sent to Steam and if both are new it will Decript the game for play. This makes it Impossible to sell/buy a used Title. once you get past installation you will be rewarded witha great FPS that has all the fun of the First game with Much Better Graphics and Physics. A must have for any Fan.…Expand

Ok for all of you who gave this zeros because of Steam...you don't deserve to play games. All you do is install it and open an account, if you had problems doing that...games aren't your thing. This games predecessor (HL 1) revolutionized gaming and this one continued with great graphics, huge firefights, and interesting characters and level design. Gameplay was awesome and the Ok for all of you who gave this zeros because of Steam...you don't deserve to play games. All you do is install it and open an account, if you had problems doing that...games aren't your thing. This games predecessor (HL 1) revolutionized gaming and this one continued with great graphics, huge firefights, and interesting characters and level design. Gameplay was awesome and the cliffhanger ending left me waiting for the expansion. A great game all around that kills Doom 3's limited environments and tiny hallway brawls.…Expand

This game would get a 10 from me, but for a few things. The ending is one of the worst I've seen in a game. It does nothing that endings are supposed to do (wrap the story up, answer an unanswered question or two, etc). The gameplay, while fun, is quite linear. If you're looking for something like Fallout (or even the GTA line), you won't find it here. The AI is pretty poor This game would get a 10 from me, but for a few things. The ending is one of the worst I've seen in a game. It does nothing that endings are supposed to do (wrap the story up, answer an unanswered question or two, etc). The gameplay, while fun, is quite linear. If you're looking for something like Fallout (or even the GTA line), you won't find it here. The AI is pretty poor as well. Friendlies will pretty much either follow you, or charge the enemy, which means they are either in your way, or dead. Having worked with the mapping software a bit, I can see the enemy AI is only decent if you have a fairly linear level (you know where the player is coming from), and you take plenty of time to set up "cover points" and such. If you don't specify where the NPCs can find cover, they pretty much operate on the same AI level as the friendly NPCs. As for the good parts, there are a good number. As I said, the gameplay, though linear, is very fun. There are a number of weapons that will fit most players' playing styles. The graphics are the peak of current generation games, along with great implementation. The game also works fine on a wide variety of systems. It will run decent on a 5 year old computer, yet can make full use of a new powerhouse computer. As a last note, one of the best parts of the Source (and previously the Half-life) engine is its modability. Through these mods, developers can create a single or multiplayer experience that fixes all the gripes I have about the game, besides the storyline. Overall, I would recommend this game as a "must-buy", as what the game doesn't have out of the box, others can do for it.…Expand

Fantastic game. I've had it installed on my system for a year now, been preoccupied with CounterStrike:S, and finally forced myself to sit down and play it. While I'm typically not all that into FPSs... select few if any, I absolutely loved HL2. Graphics are awesome (ok on my PCI... yes regular PCI vid card, but my 3.4ht makes up for it). Sound is phenomenal. Gameplay is superb. Fantastic game. I've had it installed on my system for a year now, been preoccupied with CounterStrike:S, and finally forced myself to sit down and play it. While I'm typically not all that into FPSs... select few if any, I absolutely loved HL2. Graphics are awesome (ok on my PCI... yes regular PCI vid card, but my 3.4ht makes up for it). Sound is phenomenal. Gameplay is superb. No question about it. Definitely recommended to anyone looking for a good game to kill some time on.…Expand

game is the best. o ya and mr Sean War who said "gave it a0: Really repetitive, nothing changes, doesnt come close to doom 3 when it comes to graghics" doom 3 was the worst game ever it was just simply tarible. lacked a story ulike this one. unlike any other sequal to a game this one just blows ur mind away. game is great. the AI is great and the story contines to amaze me.

There were parts of this game that I thought were brilliant unfortunately these just served to highlight the parts which were substandard. It does have great graphics but they lacked the wow factor of Far Cry or FEAR. The A.I was strictly average more like the A.I in Quake4 (though for some reason in Quake4 this doesn't detract at all from the game) and your own guys do nothing but There were parts of this game that I thought were brilliant unfortunately these just served to highlight the parts which were substandard. It does have great graphics but they lacked the wow factor of Far Cry or FEAR. The A.I was strictly average more like the A.I in Quake4 (though for some reason in Quake4 this doesn't detract at all from the game) and your own guys do nothing but get in your way. The puzzles seemed little pointless and added nothing as they were so simple. I did like the main characters and enjoyed the story overall particularly the last quarter of the game. I didn't experience any technical problems at all with game nor did I have any trouble with steam and apart from initial conatct to set up my steam account and verify my copy was genuine I have never needed a internet connection again to play this game. I didn't love it (it's no Far Cry) but I would definitely recommended it.…Expand

Awesome game. Builds on the original in terms of rivalling movies and books in character depth, a story that can enthrall you if you take the time to actually listen to what the AI says (Looking at you Ian F). Why a 9 and not a 10? Linear, although that seems to be par for the course in terms of FPS's (excluding Far Cry), and steam, which although it proved no problem to me, was a Awesome game. Builds on the original in terms of rivalling movies and books in character depth, a story that can enthrall you if you take the time to actually listen to what the AI says (Looking at you Ian F). Why a 9 and not a 10? Linear, although that seems to be par for the course in terms of FPS's (excluding Far Cry), and steam, which although it proved no problem to me, was a pain in the rear for a dial up friend of mine.…Expand

Do you know why I give this game a ten..because I played it front to back as much as I could on each difficulty level with as many different stradegies and as many different opinions on how to play as possible. each time proved better than the last..but what I don't understand is..why ones? why twos? why zeros? What is the point to giving a game that obviously has some of the Do you know why I give this game a ten..because I played it front to back as much as I could on each difficulty level with as many different stradegies and as many different opinions on how to play as possible. each time proved better than the last..but what I don't understand is..why ones? why twos? why zeros? What is the point to giving a game that obviously has some of the strongest points in gaming such a low score...I'll tell you why..BIAS! The people who give this game a bad review are either too obsessed with just one FPS (Far Cry, Doom, Quake etc...) or don't like FPS games in the first place. Either that or there are way too many opinions based on positive bias such as those who give it a ten simply because its half-life..both are wrong ways to judge and I can definately say as an all around game fan that this game has earned this 10..do you know why? Because I'm NOT biased..do you think the game critics upstairs are thinking about Doom, Quake, or Far Cry when they give this game a review..absolutely not, which is why they work for their publications! You guys aren't even close to fair or reasonable so get real and actually play the game for all its worth and then we'll see how terrible it is.…Expand

Arguably the single most immersive game ever made. The story line was a fabulous continuation of the original and the game managed to use its spectacular physics engine without becoming overly gimmicky. In an article by PC Gamer it was stated that EA was trying to make the citizen cane of gaming, but considering this game i think you need look no further than valve. My one beef with this Arguably the single most immersive game ever made. The story line was a fabulous continuation of the original and the game managed to use its spectacular physics engine without becoming overly gimmicky. In an article by PC Gamer it was stated that EA was trying to make the citizen cane of gaming, but considering this game i think you need look no further than valve. My one beef with this game is that the ending was a complete dissapointment, total cliff hanger.…Expand

Half Life 2 is a great game, but it is in no way the best FPS ever. Friendly AI is poor, as your fellow soldiers will die quickly; ant lions are more effective than humans. There is no sniper rifle (sorry, the crossbow doesn't count) so you end up wasting lots of ammo on enemies at even a medium distance. Even a Halo-style battle rifle would have been nice. There is no compass or Half Life 2 is a great game, but it is in no way the best FPS ever. Friendly AI is poor, as your fellow soldiers will die quickly; ant lions are more effective than humans. There is no sniper rifle (sorry, the crossbow doesn't count) so you end up wasting lots of ammo on enemies at even a medium distance. Even a Halo-style battle rifle would have been nice. There is no compass or map, so you can get disoriented, even though the game is very linear. However, the game does tons of stuff right. Great graphics, great sound. Firefights are varied and fun. Environments are highly detailed and the physics bring it to life like no other game can do (possible exceptions being FEAR and Far Cry). Fun vehicles. Solid characters and thought-provoking story. Overall, a must-play for action fans, and a big bright feather in Valve's cap.…Expand

I'm not going to say anything that hasn't already been said, so I'll make it short and sweet. Great graphics, great sound, great game. The gravity gun is tons of fun. My son loved it when I "starfished" Combine soldiers by shooting them straight up in the air and watching them spin like a top. Also, shooting soldiers into energy streams and watching them somersault in slow I'm not going to say anything that hasn't already been said, so I'll make it short and sweet. Great graphics, great sound, great game. The gravity gun is tons of fun. My son loved it when I "starfished" Combine soldiers by shooting them straight up in the air and watching them spin like a top. Also, shooting soldiers into energy streams and watching them somersault in slow motion was endlessly entertaining. The game ran fine on my system, which surprised me considering how detailed the graphics were. The ending was disappointing and was obviously designed to leave the door open for Half-Life 3.…Expand

This is the best game i have ever played. It starts you in a gritty city-without hope kinda scenario and keeps you locked in. The combat is amazing, and it REALLY steps up once you get the gravity gun. I would recommend this game to anyone, and if somone would pass the game up, they should be shot.

Dune 2. Doom. Command and Conquer. Monkey Island 2. Deus Ex. Every so often a game comes along that redefines the very concept of gaming, that goes beyond "a new benchmark for the genre" to become one of the greatest achievements in the history of the field of sick virtual reality video games. Rise and shine, Mr Freeman, rise and shine. Ignore anyone who's given this game a yellow Dune 2. Doom. Command and Conquer. Monkey Island 2. Deus Ex. Every so often a game comes along that redefines the very concept of gaming, that goes beyond "a new benchmark for the genre" to become one of the greatest achievements in the history of the field of sick virtual reality video games. Rise and shine, Mr Freeman, rise and shine. Ignore anyone who's given this game a yellow score, pour scorn on those who have given it red. This is, quite simply, the best game ever made up to this point. And I'm saying that with 512k of RAM, which makes the key responses occasionally act like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. If you thought the Aliens Vs Predator games were scary...you were right, but ten minutes in Ravenholm and you'll be begging for the chapter to end. The graphics are, of course, to die for - you can turn the detail down and it still looks like Jesus himself created the characters. The voice acting is brilliant - I have to give a quick nod to Valve for the subtitles and closed-captions...finally the deaf can enjoy Half-Life as much as the hearing can. Thanks for that. There is one, only one, downside, and it begins with S. There really is no way around it, but once you've got the game, you can apparently switch Steam off without downloading something claiming to be a crack which actually eats your computer from the inside like a tapeworm - have a look on Google for the tweak. Steam is the archetype of good intentions paving the road to Hell. But I choose not to mark the game down because of the ill-thought out delivery system. Half Life 2 is a landmark. It is to gaming what the Godfather Part II was to film. Wake up and smell the ashes.…Expand

BEST GAME EVER! Seriously. The physics engine...amazing! The AI...amazing! The hours of game time...amazing! This game will keep you glued to your computer with hours of fun on end + an amizing fan base with hundreds of great mods. WOW!

The best gameplay, graphics and story seen in a computergame since the 90's. You play the story.. the shooting is also nice but is not the main gaol.. the gaol is to finish the story.. not only to shoot. Many shoot 'em up game fail on this point.

The most innovative, beautiful, immersive, fun, thought-provoking, useful, creative, and awesome game EVER. Graphics are as good as they get, and yet still seem to run playably on relatively old machines. The plot is very realistic, and you're much more involved with full facial animations. I felt that was something all games were missing. Not only do all the characters move with the The most innovative, beautiful, immersive, fun, thought-provoking, useful, creative, and awesome game EVER. Graphics are as good as they get, and yet still seem to run playably on relatively old machines. The plot is very realistic, and you're much more involved with full facial animations. I felt that was something all games were missing. Not only do all the characters move with the full range of emotions that almost makes the game like a movie, but you can make your own animations too! And I've seen some that kicked ass, no less. And physics...DON'T GET ME STARTED! Physics not only make all the gunshots and explosions so much cooler to watch, but it actually brings up a whole slew of new ways to attack enemies. An expert may look down at a new player and say "You just left that splintered piece of wood BEHIND???" Garry's Mod is a game in itself, with enough extra visuals and creative methods that bring the engine's physics to their full extent and back around again. Just go to facepunchstudios.com and see what wonders have been made. When I played Halo, I noticed something - you get lost a lot. A lot of rooms are similar, and I have never ever memorized any portion of a halo level. But Half-Life 2...take just about any screenshot of a level and even someone who only played the game once will look and say "Oh yeah! I remember that part!" Every little room has something in it that's memorable. As for the prequel, let's just say graphics is probably the smallest of the things they improved.…Expand

After going through the whole game I finally realized how amazingly clever this game really is. Each and every puzzle was unique and very nicely planned. The amazing physics also made this possible. Who wouldnt love shooiting the enemy off of cliffs. Thats my favorite. Amazing game!

A great first-person shooter game with an unbeliaveble enviorment and MAYBE best game graphics. The game play is good too but really easy. It is interesting, exciting, creative but has no challenge. The game is missing a "easy-hard" scale. Overall great game to play with top graphics and top plot.

I can't think of a game I've ever enjoyed as much as this! Some people complain about the teammate AI. Though it isn't perfect, it's really not that bad, plus you rarely have a teammate! And to those of you who whine about it being linear. You know what? Sometimes, linear isn't bad! With a storyline as interesting as HL2's, I'm more than happy to follow a path.

amazing game - had me captivated to the end. the physics alone can give hours of fun, the graphics are great and the story is good - the music is amazing! plus with all the free mods that have come out and are to come, you cant go wrong. download and installation were easy - i actually like steam - it keeps all the games in one place and completely does away with all the trouble of manual amazing game - had me captivated to the end. the physics alone can give hours of fun, the graphics are great and the story is good - the music is amazing! plus with all the free mods that have come out and are to come, you cant go wrong. download and installation were easy - i actually like steam - it keeps all the games in one place and completely does away with all the trouble of manual updates.…Expand

Half-Life 2 is awsome! Such detail, such a setting, such a storyline! The only games that could rival it are it's expansions and Half-Life 3 (when it arrives some time in the future, maybe 2012). I love the super gravity gun, the ultimate weapon, even though it arrives much later in the game.

About the game missing an easy-hard scale, what the heck man, it has one (easy, medium, hard). Great game, one of the best ever, makes games like Halo 2 that promise so much look like last nights dinner.

An ephemeral and controversial ending, along with the few issues described above, means that for me, Half-Life 2, while a compelling and highly enjoyable game, falls short of the size of impact that the first title had on the gaming world.